


New World

by edith681



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 17:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10746651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edith681/pseuds/edith681
Summary: Chase has no idea the world is going to end in about a week. But when he meets the girl of his dreams, he's got to make their time count.





	New World

Chase ran out to the backyard to get his dog.

"Marvin, come on in!"

Marvin ranto him , barking. They went indoors for lunch.

"Hey, Mom, Marvin wants some peanut butter!" called Chase.

"Well, he's not getting any!" his mother said sternly. "Now drink your juice!"

"But, Mom-"

"Chase, I said drink your juice!"

"But I don't have any juice."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Mom, is anything wrong this morning? You're acting stressed lately."

"Nothing's wrong," she said, more to herself than to Chase. But as soon as she was in bed that night, she started crying. The world was going to end in just one week. The problem was, she knew it and her son didn't.

 

***

 

Chase's POV

THE NEXT DAY:

Russell met me right outside the gate to walk to school together.

"Hey, Russ," I greeted him.

"Chase. Whutup man?" he said back.

"The skys up. Let's go."

We walked to school.

"Next year we'll be able to drive," said Russell. "Won't that be nice?"

"So nice."

"Course, I'd rather have a motorcycle any day!"

"You would! Ha!" I smiled at him. We were both in good spirits today.

The day dragged by. History, geography, French, English, and so on. Finally we were let out.

"Man, I thought it would never end!" cried Russ.

"I hate Thursdays!" I laughed.

"I'm so done with school."

"Eh, next month we get out. That's not too much longer, is it?"

"Nope, really not. Maybe a bit. See you later?"

"No can do. Food bank."

"Oh, right. Tomorrow, then."

"Yep."

On Thursdays I did volunteer hours at the food bank. Sometimes someone else would join me, a kid. A teenager like me.

When I went to the food bank, Stewart was there. He's 14.

"Hi, Chase," he said.

"Hey, Stewart! I haven't seen you in, like, 3 months!"

"Ready to get started?" He handed me a paper bag and we talked and sorted and laughed.

 

***

 

Chase's POV

My mom came home at 8. I was sitting in front of the tv, watching the Family channel, eating a chocolate bar when she walked in. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were stained with tears. I could tell immediately that something was wrong. Really wrong.

I turned off the tv and stood up.

"Mom?" My voice wavered.

"Chase, we need to talk," she said seriously.

Chase's mom's POV

Telling my son was the toughest thing I've ever had to do-not just a parent, but as a person. But I knew it had to be done.

So I did.

I told him.

He took it better than I thought he would.

 

***

 

Chase's POV

The world is ending. The world is ending. We have about a week left. THE WORLD IS ENDING!

The words rang over and over in my head.

As soon as my mom told me, I couldn't stop myself. I was thrown into turmoil. I yelled and screamed and kicked things and threw chairs and smashed dishes. I wasn't angry. I was FURIOUS.

I wasn't scared. I was TERRIFIED. That was the feeling that really overcame me, more than anything. The terror. Real terror, not like when I had a nightmare. Real fear, not like when I used to think there was a monster under my bed.

This was not a nightmare. It was no imaginary monster. THIS WAS REAL.

Real.

The world is really ending.

I knew it was real, still, I felt the urge, the automatic instinct, to crawl back into bed, and in the morning everything would be okay. The world would not be ending. There would not be anything wrong, except for too much homework.

I ran into my room and waited for it to pass. It did.

But there also came another instinct. This one was stronger. It was about my friends. Did they know? They couldn't have. They would have told me about something of this magnitude.

Stewart told when he'd gotten a rabies shot last year. We didn't keep secrets from each other.

I had to tell them. I had to. What should I do? How would they react?

I couldn't tell them. But I had to.

I needed some fresh air. I took Marvin for a walk. More like a run. I ran. Tears were streaming down my face. Russell was coming out just as I was going past his house. I heard him call my name. My legs felt wobbly. I couldn't stand, so I let myself fall to the ground. I went down on my hands and knees. Russell ran over to me and grabbed my shoulders. He called my name, but it sounded really far away.

It was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

 

***

 

Russell's POV

"Chase!" I cried, almost yelled. "Chase! Chase, speak to me!"

I was getting worried. Then I saw Chase's mom coming. I waved my arms at her and she came over to see what was wrong.

"He passed out," I told her, and my voice wavered a bit.

"Chase! Chase, honey." She sounded pretty hysterical, and I started wondering what had happened to make my friend so upset.

"Chase! Chase, honey, are you okay?!"

"Chase, answer us, dammit!" I yelled this time.

Chase coughed and opened his eyes.

"Mom!" He threw his arms around his mother.

"Dammit, Chase," I gasped. "You scared the hell outta me! Don't ever pull that shit again, got it!?"

"Got it, Russ." Chase smiled weakly.

"What the hell happened to get you so worked up, man?" I looked at him. His eyes were still kinda wild.

"I-" Chase looked at his mom, who gave him a reluctant "Go ahead," look.

Chase took a deep breath. "Russ," he said. "The world is going to end in a week."

"How?"

"A meteor." Chase looked at his shoes. "I thought I should tell you, but I...didn't know how," he confessed.

"One week..." I said thoughtfully. "Come on!"

Chase's POV

I couldn't believe how nonchalant Russell was acting. Like the end of the world was no big deal! Russ sure was good at acting like nothing was wrong when things really were wrong.

Instead he pulled me into his room, took out paper and pencils, and told me to write down everything I wanted to do in the next week.

"Everything?" I asked.

Russ gave me a wry smile. "Everything."

We both wrote for a long time. My mom was talking to Russell's mom in the living room.

We kept on writing until Russ said," What have you got?"

I showed him my list. It was pretty long by this point. When Russ finished reading it, he said,"Cool!"

He didn't say I couldn't do certain things on my list, even though some of them were certainly not doable in a month, much less a week.

We'd better get started, I thought. The sooner, the better. Russ must've thought so too, because he said,"Perfect. We start tomorrow."

 

***

 

Russell's POV

I really didn't wanna waste time with sleeping, but we kinda didn't have any choice. Nobody would wanna get sick during their last week on Earth. Besides, I was exhausted. I couldn't keep my eyes open for another five minutes if I tried.

I fell asleep in seconds. Over and over I saw that meteor hurtling toward Earth. Then the explosion hit and I woke up screaming.

"Are you ok?" asked Chase.

"Think so," I mumbled, then tried to go back to sleep.

Chase's mom's POV

I gathered together Chase's friends and their parents and told them all about the meteor. I had to.

They didn't freak out as much as I thought they would. Mostly because the boys were sleeping in the next room. Some of them cried. Others took deep breaths to calm down. But I made them understand that their last week counted. I also made them understand that it was important for Chase to have his friends around and hanging out with him during the last week of his life.

In the end, we came to the agreement that Chase and his friends would take the next week-or however long until the world ended-off school, and try to get everything on their lists finished.

The kids would get to do whatever they wanted-except break the law-so they could have all the fun they want before they died.

"We'll tell them in the morning," I decided, and the other adults agreed.

Chase's POV

When we woke up the next morning, the first thing we did was turn on the news to check the weather. Nobody said anything about us all sleeping over together, which was really nice, considering the meteor. I hadn't had a really nice big sleepover like that in ages.

Our parents were still asleep in the guestrooms or on the couch or whereever.

Then all of a sudden, I saw a meteor on the tv and heard them say something about a meteor heading toward the earth.

"Russ!" I cried, and the boys came running. "Look, it's our meteor."

They talked all about how the world was going to end and how they didn't know how fast it was going but it seemed right now that we only had 1-2 weeks to live, maybe three.

Then both of the reporters ran off to get started on their bucket lists, and the news went off the air because there were no reporters. Or sports broadcasters. Or even a cameraman.

I flicked off the tv and looked at Russell. We all waited for him to say something, but he just shrugged.

"Well," he said. "Didn't take them long to catch on, that's for sure."

 

***

 

Russell's POV

Okay, fine, so yeah, the news people found out about the meteor. Whatever, no big deal. I still had my homies. My main man Chase and the rest of the guys: Peter, Justin, and Stewart.

No time to worry about people we didn't even know. We had to get started on our lists!

Chase's POV

So now everyone knew. Not that I cared. Okay, maybe I cared a little. It was the end of the world. Ah, whatever. We gotta go.

Live it up. That's what we're going to do! Yeah!

We walked to the school.

I sat on a rock. "Okay," said Russell. "Let's see. Number one-"

"Hey, Russ," I interrupted, pointing. "Who's she?"

Russ looked where I was pointing. "I dunno. Who cares? Anyway, number one-"

"I'm gonna go say hi," I said, and ran off.

Russell's POV

I don't know what happened to Chase. All of a sudden, he just was interested in a girl. He just saw her and couldn't tear his eyes away. He had to meet her.

I have no idea what came over him.

Amy's POV

I was shocked when I saw the meteor on tv that morning and heard that the world was going to end in a couple of weeks. Then I went to school but hardly anyone was there and neither were any of the teachers.

Me and the kids who were there just sat around outside since nobody was there to let us in. We just messed around and did whatever we wanted.

Some people threw paper airplanes. Some made cootie catchers. Some just sat around and talked.

Then Chase showed up. He might've just seen me from across the street, or maybe he was closer. Either way, he noticed me. He didn't just see me, he NOTICED me.

And I noticed him too.

I hid my face in a book and pretended I hadn't seen him.

"Hi," I heard him say.

I looked up and saw him standing there right above me. "Hi," I said back.

"I'm Chase. What's your name?"

"I'm Amy." I smiled at him.

"Did you, um...did you see the news this morning?"

"You mean the report where the meteor is coming toward the planet and we only have, like, a week to live?"

"Ooh. So I guess you did see it."

"Maybe."

"I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

"We had to find out sometime. Anyway, it doesn't really matter. It's over now. Now I just wanna make the most of the time we have left."

"Well, do you need some help? You can come with me and my friends. We were just about to start doing that."

"Sure. I'll come with you guys. You seem nice."

"Okay, then it's settled. We'll go together."

So we did.

 

***

 

Russell's POV

Several minutes later, I saw Chase coming back with a girl. The same girl he'd seen before and gone over to talk to. What did he like about that girl so much?

I watched them come over. What was he doing? She wasn't coming, was she?

Oh, no.

"Hey, Russ," said Chase. "This is Amy. She's gonna come with us. Okay?"

"Uh, not okay?"

Chase glared at me.

I sighed. "Fine, she can tag along for a little while, but only if she agrees to do the things on our lists."

"Okay," said Chase and Amy in unison.

Chase's POV

I didn't really see what Russell's problem was. Usually he has a "the more the merrier" attitude. I just wanted to bring Amy along. What was wrong with that?

Amy's POV

I don't know if the end of the world brings out the worst in people or the best in people.

I think it certainly brought out the worst in Russell. I didn't worry too much about it. I mean, it's a big thing to suddenly find out the world is gonna end. He'd lighten up soon.

Hopefully.

Stewart's POV

I thought it was really rude of Russell to say that Amy couldn't come with us, especially since Chase really seemed to like her.

Something was up. This just wasn't the kind of person Russ usually is. Sometimes I worry about that kid.

Chase's POV

We all sat down on the rocks together and looked over the list with Amy.

"We should do hanggliding today," I said, and everyone agreed.

Russell was the only one of us who was old enough to drive, and he also happened to have a car. It was a Toyota that could fit 5 people.

"Great," I asked. "What now?"

"Me and Chase in the front, you guys in the back."

"We can't all squish in the back!" cried Justin.

"Well, try. It's a half-hour drive. You can do it."

They just fit into the back.

Justin helped me call everyone's parents and tell them we were going hanggliding. My mom told us to come right home now and we'd talk. So, everyone got back out of the car and went inside.

"Okay, guys," she said, after we introduced her to Amy. "I can see that you guys have things you wanna do before...you know. So, we need to work something out. It won't take long. First of all, we're coming with you. Okay?"

"Only for some things," said Peter.

"Deal," we all agreed.

My mom got us a limo with a private driver for our last week on earth. We went hanggliding and swimming and parasailing. I went with Amy.

Then we went to eat lunch.

Russell's POV

I can't believe Chase would go parasailing with Amy! And then during lunch they wouldn't stop talking to each other! I should never have let Amy come. This was supposed to be a guy thing!

Amy's POV

I noticed Russell glaring at me during lunch. I think he felt kind of upset that I was stealing Chase away from him, and he sorta felt like a third wheel.

I felt a bit bad for him, but also a little annoyed.

Russell's POV

I realized that I think Chase is falling in love. And if he is, I shouldn't stop it from happening.

I mean, love is a beautiful amazing natural part of life-however much of it we have left. I should be glad that it's happening to my friend.

So, I let it go.

For the most part.

 

***

 

Amy's POV

There were a lot of boys, too many for my tastes, and although I respected the fact that Chase wanted to hang out with his friends, I still wanted some alone time with him. I mean, I think I was falling in love with him! I tried to figure out what to do.

Russell's POV

I decided to accept the fact that Amy was a part of the group now. I decided to treat her like one of the guys. I mean...well, you know what I mean.

I tried to enjoy her company.

Chase's POV

After we finished our lunch, we set out to do some more stuff. This afternoon we were playing paintball. I was really excited! It was gonna be me, Amy, and Russell versus Justin, Peter, and Stewart. It was gonna be great!

Stewart's POV

I was a bit nervous about the paintball this afternoon, since I'd never been before, but I had my friends to give me support. It would be fun. We just needed the right place with the correct equipment.

Chase's POV

Russell can be really bossy sometimes. He boasted about how he knew this terrific place for paintball, and he directed the driver all around until the man looked like he was going to quit. To tell you the truth, I think we were all getting pretty sick of Russ by this point.

But I also felt kinda bad for him. I mean, we're best friends, and I think he feels as if Amy is stealing me away.

Stewart's POV

I didn't like seeing my friends fight, especially when I felt like there was nothing I could do.

But well, there wasn't much I could do. They weren't really fighting anyway, they just weren't really talking to each other. I think they were both a little mad. Well there was a girl in the picture, so it must have something to do with her. I tried to focus on the good thing. We were all together, we were all going to paintball.

Chase's POV

When we got to paintball, I insisted on being an amy's team. Russell insisted on being on my team, and I let him since he was my best friend.

Peter, Justin, and Stewart were on the other team. We were all pretty excited. None of us had really played paintball, except for Russ, of course.

 

***

 

Chase

"Am I doing this right?" I asked as I lined up the shot. Amy was helping me out. She was my caddy. I held my 9-iron and drew back. I let it go and took the shot. The ball went off-at least a hundred yards. I kissed Amy and she stepped up and hit her ball, which just happened to be pink.

Amy

The world was ending in two days. The meteor was coming closer, and you could kind of see it now. Russell had his camera and he wouldn't stop taking pictures. I looked at my watch again.

"Come on, Russell, it's almost time for lunch."

Russell

I'd gotten used to Amy and chase by now. I actually thought it was kind of sweet.

The next day

Chase fell out of bed. Then he looked at the clock.

"Oh, no!" cried Chase. "We slept in!"

"What?" asked Amy.

"Its our last day on earth and we slept in!!"

"Oh, no, now we have to cram a whole day of fun into six hours."

"Great," sighed Russell.

We went to the park first and then to get some candy at the store. By the time it was 3:00, the news guys estimated we only had a half hour left.

We got some ice cream and sat up on a big hill where the meteor was aimed for. The meteor was getting very close. The countdown to the end of the world was like the countdown to new years.

A few seconds before the meteor crashed, we all smiled and Russ took a picture with the meteor in the background. Then we all closed our eyes...

85,000 years into the future, when the earth is finally inhabitable again...

"Hey, Max, come on! It's almost time to go!"

"Check out what I found?"

"What is that thing?" He pressed a button. It turned on.

"This is one of those things Ganara was telling me about. A cam-er-a."

"Lets look at the pictures."

"Just once."

**THE END**

**You should know: Ganara is the futuristic word for Grandma.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


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